Vinh Long offers more than just delicious fruits.

Buzz

Content

Vinh Long offers more than just delicious fruits.

In addition to the year-round fruit orchards, Vinh Long boasts unique and delectable dishes that are simply mouthwatering.

Vinh Long offers more than just delicious fruits.

Fermented sweet potatoes

Normally, people eat boiled sweet potatoes, but in the Southern region, locals have creatively come up with a dish of boiled sweet potatoes served with fermented fish sauce. The ingredients for this dish are easy to find, simple, and familiar. Just steam or boil the sweet potatoes until cooked, let them cool, cut them into small pieces, add grated dried coconut, sesame salt, peanuts, fresh vegetables, and clean aromatic herbs. Fermented sweet potatoes used to be a poor man's dish, but now it has become a specialty of this land.

When eating, use the leaves to wrap each piece of sweet potato, grated coconut, and herbs, and dip them in the sauce. This rustic dish is special. The earthy, pungent, and sweet aroma of sweet potatoes and vegetables, the creamy coconut flavor mixed with the salty fish sauce all create a distinctive taste that keeps you coming back for more. Eating fermented sweet potatoes, you will taste the essence of the water, the fields, and the months of flooding, harmonizing with the nature of the people here.

Elephant ear fish

Whole fried elephant ear fish is a well-known dish among the people of Vinh Long. The crispy fish straight from the golden pan, served with rice paper, fresh vermicelli, raw vegetables, and a sweet and sour dipping sauce, can make anyone's mouth water just by looking at it.

The firm, fragrant flesh of the elephant ear fish is ideal for wrapping in rice paper rolls. Peel the fish meat, place it on a rice paper sheet, add fresh herbs, vermicelli, raw vegetables, and roll it up into a tight roll, then dip it in the delicious dipping sauce. This experience amidst fruit tree gardens is the most wonderful feeling that travelers can imagine on their journey.

The delicious sweetness of the flesh of this large flat fish, combined with crispy skin, various herbs, fresh vermicelli, and a fragrant garlic chili lime dipping sauce, is truly perfect. This dish is both rich and refreshing, making it difficult to get tired of. It's no wonder that many tourists are introduced to elephant ear fish as the top easy-to-eat, delicious, and suitable dish for many people.

Nightingale's eggplant

When visiting eco-tourism gardens in Vinh Long during this season, tourists should not miss the opportunity to enjoy nightingale's eggplant, and then lie in a hammock amidst the cool, shady trees, listening to the melodious song of the nightingale. This is also the unique way that many Vinh Long gardeners use to attract visitors from the city.

According to Oriental medicine, using nightingale's carcass can treat fever, convulsions, childhood paralysis, limb cramps, hoarseness, middle ear inflammation... Recently, nightingales have been processed into many delicious dishes, which are very popular in Vinh Long.

Wherever nightingales are caught, they are immediately thrown into a basin of salt water or diluted fish sauce to prevent them from growing wings and escaping, jokingly referred to by farmers as giving them a “seaside bath”. They are then prepared in various ways such as batter-fried, stir-fried with onions, cooked in porridge, and best of all, deep-fried. The tender, fragrant flesh of young nightingales is more aromatic than crickets or grasshoppers; less chewy than mantises. Deep-fried nightingales are soft, slightly creamy, fragrant, and crispy in the mouth.

Burnt fish

The burnt fish from the Hau River is a specialty of the small area in Tich Thien commune, where the fresh and saltwater meet. The flesh of burnt fish is delicious and has rare, fatty eggs. Therefore, people are willing to painstakingly prepare burnt fish into many dishes, despite its small size and many bones. Each time you eat burnt fish, you must patiently select and remove the bones, but diners will not be disappointed when enjoying it.

Burnt fish porridge is very fragrant and sweet. Scoop a small bowl, eat it with waterleaf vegetables, bitter vegetables, lettuce, and a little minced young ginger, and you will feel more comfortable and warm in your stomach. If you have time, make burnt fish salad. Although it is laborious for the cook, the quality is impeccable.

A simpler dish is braised burnt fish. Just put it in a pot, season it, and let it simmer until the fish bones are soft. Braised burnt fish eaten with hot rice will make you empty the pot no matter how big it is. Or you can also make sour soup with burnt fish with vegetables such as mint, cowpea, bean sprouts, and okra, or simmer the fish with a layer of sugarcane at the bottom of the pot. Every dish is enticing, every dish is delicious, every dish is a rice-puller.

Lục Sĩ Island nem rice paper

In addition to oranges, there are also nem rice paper at Lục Sĩ Thành Island and Mây Island, which visitors often buy as gifts. Previously, nem rice paper was made from seasonal rice, but now it is replaced with high-quality rice.

The rice paper here includes many different types such as: nem rice paper, dipping rice paper, sweet rice paper, grilled rice paper. The rice paper is handmade with 100% rice flour and no chemicals, giving it a distinctive flavor. When eaten, it is soft, chewy, mildly salty, wrapped with shrimp, meat, vegetables, vermicelli, dipped in tamarind fish sauce or ground soybean sauce, making it very appealing and unique to the cuisine of the Mekong Delta.

According to Ngoisao.net

***

Reference: Mytour Travel Handbook

MytourJuly 17, 2015

The content is developed by the Mytour team with the aim of customer care and solely to inspire travel experiences. We do not take responsibility for or provide advice for other purposes.

If you find this article inappropriate or containing errors, please contact us via email at [email protected]

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes fermented sweet potatoes a unique dish in Vinh Long?

Fermented sweet potatoes in Vinh Long combine sweet potatoes, coconut, herbs, and fermented fish sauce, creating a distinctive blend of flavors that reflects the local culture.

How do you enjoy elephant ear fish in Vinh Long?

To enjoy elephant ear fish, peel its crispy meat, wrap it in rice paper with herbs and vermicelli, and dip it in a tangy garlic chili lime sauce for a rich flavor.

What is special about nightingale's eggplant in Vinh Long?

Nightingale's eggplant in Vinh Long is known for its tender meat, often deep-fried to a crispy texture. It's popular for its rich taste and unique local preparation.

Why is burnt fish from Hau River considered a specialty?

Burnt fish from Hau River has a distinctive taste and rare fatty eggs. It’s often used in various dishes like porridge, salad, or braised fish, despite its bony texture.

What makes Lục Sĩ Island nem rice paper unique?

Lục Sĩ Island's nem rice paper is handmade from high-quality rice, with no chemicals. It’s chewy and flavorful, often served with shrimp, meat, and tamarind fish sauce.